Rogers uses threat MO to attack respected colleague

It appears Rep. Mike Rogers is the latest weapon in the GOP’s quest to discredit U.S. Rep John Murtha, D-PA.

The Associated Press is reporting that during a series of House votes Thursday, Murtha walked to the GOP side to confront Rogers, a former FBI agent. This month, Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike from an intelligence spending bill an item that would restore $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a facility in Murtha's Pennsylvania district.
According to Rogers' account, which Murtha did not dispute, the Democrat angrily told Rogers he should never seek earmarks of his own because "you're not going to get any, now or forever."
"This was clearly designed to try to intimidate me," Rogers told The Associated Press on Friday. "He said it loud enough for other people to hear."

If anyone can tell me what funding Rogers has brought back to the 8th Congressional District I would sure like to hear it. Rogers appears to be fitting into his role as the minority quite well, and after being a cheerleader for Bush’s ill-conceived Iraq fiasco, he now appears to be serving it in a new role as the attack dog.

Rogers said he planned to file a "privileged resolution" Monday that would seek a House vote on whether to reprimand Murtha.

Rogers also claims Murtha made the alleged threat in front of a lot of people, and they are all, of course, Republicans. However, as of Sunday no one has come forward to back up Rogers’ yard.

Murtha, a harsh critic of Bush’s botched Iraq policy, has long been a target of the Republicans. During the last election season an offshoot of the Smear Boat Vets for “truth” that smeared every veteran who ever earned a medal, citation or commendation in their quest to get Sen. John Kerry formed something called “boot Murtha.” It operates just like the smear vets, and it smears all veterans, a tactic taken by the Bush Administration that pays mere lip service to their “support the troops” mantra.

Murtha is a Vietnam combat veteran, and apparently they don’t like that Murtha won two Purple Hearts. Murtha is also a retired Marine Colonel.

This is not a new tactic for Rogers. A few years back, around 2002, the Rogers camp claimed a former staffer named Bill Nowling - who was working for a political consulting group called Persuasion, Inc at the time that was representing a large telecommunications, At & T, I believe- tried to blackmail Rogers. The Rogers people claim Nowling said if Rogers didn’t vote for a telecommunications bill the group’s client wanted passed there would be hundreds of the company’s employees picketing in his office the next day. Now, Nowling claims it never happened, but the Rogers people sure made a big deal out of it at the time. I am still looking for the article that ran in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

UPDATE (Pohlitics): Here is the resolution introduced by Mike Rogers.